Sinkler Mansion

"Mardi Gras" beads

George W. Childs (1829-94), the publisher of the Philadelphia Public Ledger and one of the most influential men in America made his home at 1606 Locust from 1855 to 1872. The Magnolia Cafe, a Louisiana Cajun restaurant, occupied the former Sinkler mansion at 1602 Locust. Restaurant patrons were given a set of colorful plastic beads like those thrown at Mardi Gras, which often wound up festooned among the branches of a tree in front of the restaurant and added gaily to the atmosphere of the street. Today, the mansion is occupied by Tequila's Restaurant, which has a magnificent, colorful, satiric mural in its lobby.